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Jude the Apostle
Stjudethaddeus
Saint Jude Thaddeus by Georges de La Tour. c. 1615-1620
Apostle and Martyr
Born 1st century AD, Galilee, Palestine
Died 1st century AD, Persia
Venerated in Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Churches, Eastern Catholic Churches, Coptic Church, Anglican Communion
Canonized Pre-Congregation
Major shrine Saint Peter's, Rome, Rheims, Toulouse, France
Feast October 28 (Western Christianity)
June 19 (Eastern Christianity)
Attributes Axe, club, boat, oar, medallion
Patronage Armenia, lost causes, desperate situations, ibises, hospitals, St. Petersburg, Florida, Cotta Lucena City Quezon, the Chicago Police Department, Clube de Regatas do Flamengo from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Jude was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He is generally identified with Thaddeus, and is also variously called Jude of James, Jude Thaddaeus, Judas Thaddaeus or Lebbaeus. He is sometimes identified with Jude, "brother" of Jesus, but is clearly distinguished from Judas Iscariot, another disciple and later the betrayer of Jesus.

The Armenian Apostolic Church honours Thaddeus along with Saint Bartholomew as its patron saints. In the Roman Catholic Church he is the patron saint of desperate cases and lost causes. He is also the patron saint of Clube de Regatas do Flamengo,[1] the most popular football team in Brazil.

Saint Jude's attribute is a club. He is also often shown in icons with a flame around his head. This represents his presence at Pentecost, when he received the Holy Spirit with the other apostles. Occasionally he is represented holding an axe or halberd, as he was brought to death by one of these weapons. In some instances he may be shown with a scroll or a book (the Epistle of Jude) or holding a carpenter's rule.

Identity[]

New Testament[]

Jude is clearly distinguished from Judas Iscariot another disciple and later the betrayer of Jesus. Both "Jude" and "Judas" are translations of the name Ιούδας in the Greek original New Testament, which in turn is a Greek variant of Judah, a name which was common among Jews at the time.

"Jude of James" is only mentioned twice in the New Testament: in the lists of apostles in Luke 6:16 and Acts 1:13.

The name by which Luke calls the Apostle, "Jude of James" is ambiguous as to the relationship of Jude to this James. Though such a construction sometimes connotated a relationship of father and son, it has been traditionally interpreted as "Jude, brother of James,"[Lk. 6:16] though Protestants (for instance, the New International Version translation) usually identify him as "Jude son of James".

The Gospel of John also once mentions a disciple called "Judas not Iscariot."[Jn. 14:22] This is often accepted to be the same person as the apostle Jude,[2] though some scholars see the identification as uncertain.[3]

In some Latin manuscripts of Matthew 10:3, he is called Judas the Zealot.

Possible Identity with Thaddeus[]

In the comparable apostle-lists of Matthew 10:3 and Mark 3:18, Jude is omitted, but there is a Thaddeus (or in some manuscripts of Matthew 10:3, "Lebbaeus who was surnamed Thaddaeus") listed in his place. This has led many Christians since early times to harmonize the lists by positing a "Jude Thaddeus", known by either name.

Some Biblical scholars reject this theory, holding that Jude and Thaddeus did not represent the same person.[4] Scholars have proposed alternate theories to explain the discrepancy: an unrecorded replacement of one for the other during the ministry of Jesus because of apostasy or death;[4] the possibility that "twelve" was a symbolic number and an estimation;[5] or simply that the names were not recorded perfectly by the early church.[6]

However, some conservative Christian writers argue that, because the name "Judas" was so tarnished by Judas Iscariot, it was reasonable for Mark and Matthew to refer to him by his alternate name.[7]

Thaddeus the apostle is generally seen as a different person from Thaddeus of Edessa, one of the Seventy Disciples

Possible Identity with Jude brother of Jesus[]

Opinion is divided on whether Jude the apostle is the same as Jude, brother of Jesus, who is mentioned in Mark 6:3 and Matthew 13:55-57, and is the traditional author of the Epistle of Jude.[8] Some Catholics believe the two Judes are the same person,[9] while Protestants do not.[10]

Tradition and legend[]

Tradition holds that Saint Jude preached the Gospel in Judea, Samaria, Idumaea, Syria, Mesopotamia and Libya. He is also said to have visited Beirut and Edessa, though the emissary of latter mission is also identified as Thaddeus of Edessa, one of the Seventy. Jude is reported as suffering martyrdom together with Simon the Zealot in Persia. The 14th century writer Nicephorus Callistus makes Jude the bridegroom at the wedding at Cana.

The legend reports that St. Jude was born into a Jewish family in Paneas, a town in Galilee later rebuilt by the Romans and renamed Caesarea Philippi. In all probability he spoke both Greek and Aramaic, like almost all of his contemporaries in that area, and was a farmer by trade. According to the legend, St. Jude was a son of Clopas and his wife Mary, a sister of the Virgin Mary. Tradition has it that Jude's father, Clopas, was murdered because of his forthright and outspoken devotion to the risen Christ. After Mary's death, miracles were attributed to her intercession.

Although Saint Gregory the Illuminator is credited as the "Apostle to the Armenians", when he baptized King Tiridates III of Armenia in 301, converting the Armenians, the Apostles Jude and Bartholomew are traditionally believed to have been the first to bring Christianity to Armenia, and are therefore venerated as the patron saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Linked to this tradition is the Saint Thaddeus Monastery (now in Northern Iran) and Saint Bartholomew Monastery (now in southeastern Turkey) which were both constructed in what was then Armenia.

Death and remains[]

File:St. Thaddeus, St. Sandukht and other Christians in Sanatruk's prison.jpg

St. Thaddeus, St. Sandukht and other Christians in Sanatruk's prison

Thaddeus mosaic

Symbol of his martyrdom

According to the Armenian tradition, Saint Jude suffered martyrdom about AD 65 in Beirut, Lebanon together with the apostle Simon the Zealot, with whom he is usually connected. Their acts and martyrdom were recorded in an Acts of Simon and Jude that was among the collection of passions and legends traditionally associated with the legendary Abdias, bishop of Babylon, and said to have been translated into Latin by his disciple Tropaeus Africanus, according to the Golden Legend account of the saints.[11][12] Saints Simon and Jude are venerated together in the Roman Catholic Church on October 28.

Sometime after his death, Saint Jude's body was brought from Beirut, Lebanon to Rome and placed in a crypt in St. Peter's Basilica which is visited by many devotees. According to popular tradition, the remains of St. Jude were preserved in an Armenian monastery on an island in the northern part of Issyk-Kul lake in Kyrgyzstan at least until mid-15th century. Later legend either denounce remains as being preserved there or moved to yet more desolate stronghold in the Pamir mountains. Recent discovery of the ruins of what could be that monastery may put an end to the dispute.

Iconography of Saint Jude[]

St. Jude is traditionally depicted carrying the image of Jesus in his hand or close to his chest, betokening the legend of the Image of Edessa, recorded in apocryphal correspondence between Jesus and Abgarus which is reproduced in Eusebius' History Ecclesiastica, I, xiii. According to it, King Abgar of Edessa (a city located in what is now southeast Turkey) sent a letter to Jesus to cure him of an illness that afflicts him, and sent the envoy Hannan, the keeper of the archives, offering his own home city to Jesus as a safe dwelling place. The envoy painted a likeness of Jesus with choice paints, or impressed with Abgar's great faith, Jesus pressed his face into a cloth and gave it to Hannan to take to Abgar with his answer. Upon seeing Jesus' image, the king placed it with great honor in one of his palatial houses. After Christ had ascended to heaven, St. Jude was sent to King Abgar by the Apostle St. Thomas. The king was cured and astonished. He converted to Christianity along with most of the people under his rule. Additionally, St. Jude is often depicted with a flame above his head. This represents his presence at Pentecost, when he received the Holy Spirit with the other apostles.

Veneration[]

The Order of Preachers (the Dominicans) began working in present-day Armenia soon after their founding in 1216. There was a substantial devotion to St. Jude in this area at that time, by both Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christians. This lasted until persecution drove Christians from the area in the 1700s. Devotion to Saint Jude began again in earnest in the 1800s, starting in Italy and Spain, spreading to South America, and finally to the U.S. (starting in the area around Chicago) owing to the influence of the Claretians and the Dominicans in the 1920s. Novena prayers to St. Jude helped people, especially newly arrived immigrants from Europe, deal with the pressures caused by the Great Depression, World War II, and the changing workplace and family life.

Saint Jude is the patron saint of the Chicago Police Department and of Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (a popular football (soccer) team in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). His other patronages include desperate situations and hospitals. One of his namesakes is St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, which has helped many children with terminal illnesses and their families since its founding in 1962. His feast day is October 28 (Roman Catholic Church and Lutheran Church) and June 19 (Eastern Orthodox Church). A common Roman Catholic prayer is:

Most holy apostle, Saint Jude, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the Church honours and invokes you universally, as the patron of hopeless cases, of things almost despaired of. Pray for me, I am so helpless and alone. Make use I implore you, of that particular privilege given to you, to bring visible and speedy help where help is almost despaired of. Come to my assistance in this great need that I may receive the consolation and help of heaven in all my necessities, tribulations, and sufferings, particularly (here make your request) and that I may praise God with you and all the elect forever. I promise, O blessed Saint Jude, to be mindful of this great favour, to always honour you as my special and powerful patron, and to gratefully encourage devotion to you. Amen.

Alternative prayers are :

May the sacred heart of Jesus be adored, glorified, loved and preserved now and forever. Sacred heart of Jesus have mercy on us, Saint Jude worker of Miracles pray for us, Saint Jude helper and keeper of hopeless pray for us, Thank you Saint Jude

and

Saint Jude, Hope of the Hopeless, Pray for me

.

To encourage devotion to St. Jude, it is common to acknowledge in writing favours received. "Thank you for favours granted". He is frequently thanked in the personals column of many daily newspapers such as the Daily Telegraph, Private Eye and other newspapers. A simple such as above and here "Thank you St.Jude for favours granted" is all that is required

Notes[]

  1. http://globoesporte.globo.com/Esportes/Noticias/Times/Flamengo/0,,MUL1358160-9865,00-RUBRONEGROS+CELEBRAM+DIA+DO+PADROEIRO+E+PEDEM+BENCAOS+PARA+FLA+CHEGAR+AO+HE.html
  2. Commentary on John 14:22, Expositor's Bible Commentary CDROM, Zondervan, 1978
  3. Raymond E. Brown, The Gospel According to Saint John volume 2, p. 641.
  4. 4.0 4.1 John P. Meier, A Marginal Jew volume 3, pp 130-133, 200 ("Christian imagination was quick to harmonize and produce Jude Thaddeus, a conflation that has no basis in reality."); Rudolf Pesch, "Simon-Petrus. Geschichte und geschichtliche Bedeutung der ersten Juengers Jesu Christ", Paepste und Papsttum 15, Hiersmann, 1980. p.36.
  5. E. P. Sanders, Jesus and Judaism, Fortress Press, 1985. ISBN 0-334-02091-3. p.102
  6. Joseph Fitzmyer, The Gospel according to Luke: Introduction, translation, and notes, Volume 2, The Anchor Bible, Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1981-1985. ISBN 0385005156. p.619-620
  7. For instance Otto Harpan, in "The Apostle" (Sands, 1962), quoted at 12apostlesofthecatholicchurch.com
  8. Jerome H. Neyrey, 2 Peter, Jude, Anchor Bible Reference Library, Doubleday, 1993. p.44-45.
  9. The Brethren of the Lord, Catholic Encyclopedia, 1907
  10. The situation is similar with James: Catholics tend to identify James the brother of Jesus with the apostle James, son of Alphaeus, but Protestants and Orthodox generally do not
  11. The Golden Legend: The Lives of Saints Simon and Jude
  12. CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Apocrypha

External links[]


Sites which are shrines to Saint Jude:


Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Boyd K. Packer | L. Tom Perry | Russell M. Nelson | Dallin H. Oaks | M. Russell Ballard | Richard G. Scott | Robert D. Hales | Jeffrey R. Holland | David A. Bednar | Quentin L. Cook | D. Todd Christofferson | Neil L. Andersen

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